~ September 21, 2014 ~

~ September 21, 2014 ~ 15 th Sunday After Pentecost 10:15 am Living Hope Lutheran Church Pastor Todd Goldschmidt SERMON THEME: First the Cross in Life, Then the Crown of Life! SERMON TEXT: Matthew 16:21-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 1 of 5

Jesus words whoever wants to save his life will lose it are frightening. Who doesn t want to save his life? It s instinctual to try to hang on to it with a passion. We try to enhance it by our reputations, careers, pleasures, families, friends, accomplishments and anything else we can add to it to enhance its star quality. We begin life with an emptiness that needs to be occupied; an internal vacuum that demands to be filled. From childhood on, we seek fulfillment in whatever will temporarily satisfy that emptiness. And that s the problem. We seek fulfillment with things that won t last. Sometimes those things are good and noble, other times not so much. Either way, they don t provide the eternal fulfillment the Lord wants us to have. And if we cling to them too tightly, they will eventually destroy us. St. Paul cautioned the young pastor, Timothy: But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Tim. 6:6-10) Human beings try to avoid carrying crosses at all costs especially these days. Though historically many people have made tremendous sacrifices for a greater good and some undoubtedly still do we re more likely to act as if avoiding sacrifice is the greater good. We seek safety, comfort, security and pleasure, often at the expense of doing God s will. Let the true zealots the missionaries and pastors sacrifice themselves in God s behalf, we might think to ourselves. They re the ones God has called to full-time service in His kingdom. In thinking that way, countless Christians risk compromising God s mission for every one of His children by choosing the path of least resistance. So few are willing to pay the price of impacting the world. The same thing can be said about us, truth be told. We also run scared, when it comes to living for Jesus 100% of the time. We read a New Testament full of crosses, chains, stonings, beatings and captivities and breathe a sigh of relief and thank God those days are gone. But are they? Not in Iraq. Not in Afghanistan or Pakistan or Indonesia or China or North Korea. Worldwide the persecution of Christians is at an all-time high. More believers are losing their lives and livelihoods today than at any other time in the 2,000 year history of our faith. Such cross-bearing in distant lands calls for fervent prayer on our part and perhaps financial support for the welfare of our fellow believers who are suffering such horrific injustices. But we here in the United States can hardly relate to their distress. Is that because we ve learned to tiptoe around the excesses of New Testament zeal? We hide the light of Christ under a bushel-basket. We fear backlash for our beliefs and intimidation at the hands of those we suspect will make our lives increasingly difficult if we were to air our values in the public forum. So we hunker down in our sacred bunkers, sing our songs, say our prayers and speak our speak in the relative safety of these 4 walls of our church building. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 2 of 5

Meanwhile, countless souls are being consigned to hell every day because they don t know the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). They don t know Jesus, the One we call our best Friend. That s because we re frequently at fault for not introducing Him to others. Are we embarrassed by our relationship with Him or ashamed of calling Him our Savior? Friends, Jesus is not just our Savior! He s the Savior of all mankind! In our text, Jesus asks two startling questions staccato style: What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? People pursue all sorts of earthly pleasures and meander down an infinite number of dead end streets mined with spiritually-fatal IEDs. Most are unmindful of the eternal ramifications. They are ignorant. Others willingly walk down evil paths in the face of better knowledge from God s Word. They are obstinate. But Jesus has tasked us with taking Him and His gospel to those who are perishing in the darkness of sin and unbelief and who are destined to spend eternity separated from God s presence, blessings and love. We have the only cure to prevent that tragedy! Think what you d do if you discovered the sure-fire antidote for Ebola! An antidote that not only cures those who have already contracted that deadly virus, but also works as a vaccine to prevent its spread. Wouldn t you want to do everything in your power, by any means necessary, to see to it that the folks in West Africa had an adequate supply on hand to bring that lethal epidemic to a screeching halt? I know that s what we d do. Well, friends, we have the remedy for a far more fatal disease than Ebola. We have the remedy that can rescue souls from the eternal fire of hell, originally prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 26:31). We can point them to Jesus, God s own Son, who stated emphatically: No one comes to the Father that is, gets to live in heaven apart from me (John 14:6). What are we waiting for? Seriously, what are we waiting for? Are we waiting for the Last Day when it ll be too late to share our Savior? Are we waiting until we ve cleared every excuse and obstacle out of the way of the only Way to the heavenly Father s house? Are we waiting until the Spirit moves us? He is moving us or at least He wants to be moving us out into a world filled with those who don t know whether they re on foot or on horseback when it comes to where they ll spend eternity. Lost souls. Dying souls. Souls that will spend forever and ever and ever in hell: FOR-EV-ER in hell, where their worm will not die nor will their fire be quenched (Is. 66:24). Friends, God did not give us a spirit of timidity and more than He did the young pastor, Timothy. But along with him, God the Holy Spirit has endowed us with a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So that we need not be ashamed to testify about our Lord (2 Tim. 1:7-8). The Apostle Paul penned those encouraging words in his 2 nd letter to his younger protégé, Timothy, but they re meant to empower us just as much as him. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 3 of 5

We re not allowed to fit God s mission in around our higher priorities. We may choose safety or Christ, but not both. We may pursue the great American dream or the kingdom of God, but not both. We may give up everything (Luke 14:33) to follow Jesus, or cling tightly to our earthly possessions, but not both. Christ compels us to choose between Him and His mission for our lives and every other rival for the throne of our hearts. On that note, the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle John to sound this warning in his 1 st epistle: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (2:15-17). God have mercy on us for so often loving the world and its transitory things above God and the everlasting blessings of His heavenly kingdom! Harness the Spirit s power to break out of your comfort zone! Hitch your wagon to the Holy Ghost by digging into the feedbag of God s Word, allowing Him to nourish your reticent soul on the tender morsels of Jesus amazing grace! The life of discipleship is not for the faint of heart. It s not about comfortably padded chairs, shiny crosses and candlesticks on the altar or matching paraments and vestments. It s about a clash of kingdoms! It s not about protecting ourselves. It s about enlisting in Jesus army and marching into battle in behalf of His cause. It s not about being strong on our own. It s about being strong in the Lord and in his mighty power as Paul wrote in Ephesians 6. It s not about entering the fray armed with the weapons of our own wit, wisdom or willpower. It s about putting on the full armor of God so that [we] can take our stand against the devil s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, Paul points out, but against the... powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil. Therefore, he advises, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (vv. 10-13). If someone has a sum of money to invest, he or she will have some choices to make. Should every penny be put into one investment, or should the money be spread across a number of smaller investments? Many folks choose the latter option in order to hedge their bets. But when one option is considered superior to all the others, diversification takes a back seat to opportunism. Attractive investment opportunities draw all our attention and all of our money for the possibilities they entail. We want to capitalize. In the economy of God, one investment trumps all others. It s a sure thing. And Jesus calls us to place all of our resources, time and talents there exclusively. Why? Because He knows the return it will yield, and He knows that we will not be disappointed. But there s often a part of us that wants to diversify. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 4 of 5

We want to invest some in God s kingdom, certainly, but also some in this world. We re afraid to put all of our eggs in one basket. But whether we put a lot or a little into the temporal, Jesus says, it s a bad deal. The world will end in bankruptcy, and the kingdom of God will inherit all the wealth. And its wealth is everlasting. It includes, but is not limited to, God s pardon for each and every one of our sinful thoughts, words and actions; His peace that passes understanding; courage to face life s trials; comfort in the midst of despair; joy that goes far beyond what we could conjure up on our own; and the certain hope of life everlasting at Jesus side. So, as we lose [our] lives for [Jesus], we find blessing upon eternal blessing in Him! Human beings pursue comfort and pleasure with an alarming passion. It isn t that comfort and pleasure are wrong; God created both for us to enjoy. But He never called us to pursue them. He never asked us to focus our attention on our earthly life span in order to make it as easy or profitable as possible. To the contrary, He constantly calls His disciples to take everything they have now and invest it in everything they know about God s eternal kingdom. Whoever wants to save his life that is, whoever lives for the here and now will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel that is, lives for the kingdom will save it. Consider your investments well, and avoid pursuing the things of this world. As my Mom used to sing when I was a boy: Amen. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face, And the things of this world will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 5 of 5